11/9/15

Michael Baron | Just Mets- It’s been less than 24 hours since teams have had free reign to sign free agents from other clubs, and one of the Mets free agents is already garnering discussion. The Rockies are essentially set around their infield with Nolan Arenado, Jose Reyes, and DJ LeMahieu left to right, but really lack a viable, everyday option at first base now that Justin Morneau is a free agent. Coors Field would be a good ballpark for Murphy’s game, given the large dimensions and his ability to spray the ball gap-to-gap. He would also see an uptick in power as well, as do most players who play in that ballpark.(Chris Soto: I don't quite see the fit here for the Rockies. They have an excellent line-up already with Jose Reyes, Charlie Blackmon, Arenado, Carlos Gonzalez, Corey Dickerson, and DJ LeMathieu which is already quite lefty heavy. Murphy only adds to the lefty-ness and doesn't provide too much of an upgrade over Ben Paulsen in terms of offense. But hey....I won't complain if the Rockies want to give us a 1st round pick.)

Danny Abraino | Rising Apple- The Mets might have interest in free agent OF Denard Span. The Mets might be in search of a lefty-hitting center fielder who can platoon with Juan Lagares — who hits left-handed pitchers well — and Span would be a perfect fit if not for the amount of injuries he’s dealt with over the last 12 months. In their free agent preview, MLB Trade Rumors predicted that Span would receive a three-year deal worth $39 million. If Span stays healthy, that could be a bargain, but his three recent surgeries should give any interested team pause.(Chris Soto: Yuck....no thanks. If I'm Sandy Alderson, I'm already paying Michael Cuddyer $12.5M to be a bench player in 2016, so there is no way I'm giving Span $13M to be a platoon player with Lagares. I would much rather use that $13M per season in a larger deal for a greater impact bat such as Jason Heyward that could send Lagares to the bench as my late inning defensive wizard.)

Rob Rogan| Mets 360- Jason Heyward is going to get paid this off-season, and he’s going to get paid a lot. Part of that has to do with how Major League Baseball free agency works, what with insane contracts that get crazier and crazier each year. Most of it, though, is because of just how great a player he’s been over the last six seasons and the potential for more. A major-yet-temporary caveat here is that Heyward is primarily a right fielder and the Mets currently have Curtis Granderson entrenched there for two more seasons. If the team was willing to shove Yoenis Cespedes out there, there should be no qualms about having Heyward man center.(Chris Soto: I am 100% in agreement with Rogan here. Jason Heyward is the best defensive RF in baseball and he steals 20+ bases a season. The altheticism is there to play CF on a regular basis and he is surely a better potential defender there than Yeonis Cespedes. The best part is that he is only 25 yrs old! Your not paying for a Jason Bay who was on the wrong side of 30 when he signed; your signing a guy just entering the prime of his career who has major upside in what he could eventually produce for you. He is the one guy that fits all the needs of the Mets, a middle of the order bat, improving team defense, and increasing team speed.)

Scot Cohen| Amazin Avenue- The Mets are interested in 33-year-old relief pitcher Darren O'Day. O'Day has spent the last four years with the Baltimore Orioles and had the best season of his career in 2015, as he made 68 appearances for and finished the year with a 1.52 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, and 2.49 FIP. He struck out 82 hitters and walked just 14 in 65.1 innings.(Chris Soto: I would LOVE to have Darren O'Day in the Mets bullpen, however, there is a major elephant in the room in regards to him. No Qualifying Offer was made from the Baltimore Orioles, which means no team is going to have to shell out a draft pick in order to sign him. This is going to make him the most popular bullpen arm on the market which means he'll likely get a multi year deal for over $8M per season. That is a price tag that I'm not sure the Mets are willing to match, especially, with Addison Reed already on the payroll for ~$5.3M next season.)

The Mets have a cost controlled rotation, closer, and hitters such as Conforto TDA Dilson Herrera and Wilmer. ......This team needs to break the bank a little SOMEWHERE so if it means overpaying for a solid reliever or platoon outfielder then so be it ;)

I can't argue with the logic of signing Heyward to a long term contract. I know the Mets have had some duds recently regarding OF dud long term contracts (Bay, Cuddyer) but Heyward is only entering his prime years.

But, I still want better defense in the middle of the infield and at least one more ++ reliever

I agree that you're better off committing money to Heyward. On the other hand, Span may not get 3 years as it may make much more sense both for teams and for Mr Span to do a 1-2 year deal. 2-$20 for Span, vs 8-$150 for Heyward, and you have something real to consider.

Besides an outfielder, I'm sure Sandy will get an infielder upgrade. As important as defence is, I think Sandy's #1 priority is going to be upgrading the offense. I have seen him quoted several times saying "the team needs more offense." Trouble is, to upgrade over Flores on the FA market is very bad value (spending a heck of a lot of money for a marginal upgrade to Desmond), and equally, to truly get one of the premier shortstops on the market via trade will cost us.

I think they are more likely to go for a Zobrist as the IF solution and keep Flores/ Tejada until the next wave of kids comes up. It's not ideal but I don't see any other obvious solutions. WHo knows, maybe Sandy will surprise us with a blockbuster trade.

New topic and this one won't happen, but I want to throw out a crazy thought. Jose Reyes for Cuddy, Niese and Tejada. Reyes doesn't want to be there. Col would likely love to dump Reyes' next 2 yrs @ $22M per, take back a guy they love in Cuddy and a vet SP they need while balancing out the payroll hit in 2016.

We could use a vet SS and leadoff hitter for 2 years to buy time for our internal SS options to develop. I know Reys didn't have a great year in 2015, but he really fell off in Col - was probably depressed. I bet coming back to the Mets would juice him up. I'm OK with Dilson/Flores at 2B, but it would be tough to pair them with a rookie SS in making playoff runs the next 2 years.

Looking down the road to 2018 when Reyes is done, you move another cheap rookie into the lineup when the SPs start to get paid.

As for CF, I say commit to the 25-yr old Lagares mostly fulltime. He'll develop as a hitter - he was much better in the playoffs, which gives me a lot of confidence. Maybe occasionally paired with a Ceciliani, and Nimmo is another LH CF on the way. Spend on bullpen and save $$ in longterm commitments for the SPs.

Actually, I may be in the minority but I love the idea of bringing Jose home for 2 years. Just a couple of points on that though:

- I don't think the Mets will be trading David Wright's BFF for anyone, we're stuck with him for another year.

- Reyes represents a short term commitment and allows the team time to transition in a replacement instead of throwing a rookie into the fire. If Cecchini is ready, he can come up maybe in August and be a part-timer and ease into the job full-time over the course of 2017.

- I'm assuming the Rockies want to get out from under that contract, so Jose shouldn't cost much to acquire.

- I'd only do it if they were willing to eat $12M of his remaining $44M annual salary, dropping him to a 2-year $16M per year player for the Mets.

He still has some speed and can still play defense. We'd need other moves, but as part of the bigger picture this could fit. I also feel that a return to NY could reinvigorate Reyes and a return to grass (away from Toronto) and reprieve from exile in Colorado would also be pluses for him.

I'd check in on Antonio Bastardo who, in 3 of his last 5 seasons was sub 3.00 ERA as a lefty reliever and won't cost a draft pick.

On Heyward, I get that he's a great defender and steals around 20 bases...but a $200 million player? Really? He averages 19 HRs/68 RBIs, 17 SBs and a .268 AVG. Take out his one outlier year of 2010 and those numbers drop to what Dexter Fowler did last year. Yes, he's a far superior glove but I'm not seeing the love for him as much as, for example, I would for Justin Upton (to say nothing of Yoenis Cespedes).

just want to point out, you dont get the other teams first round pick anymore. you get a comp slot based on where that free agent is ranked at the end of round one. the other team just loses their pick. so the rockies didnt get the 15th pick last year for cuddyer. they got the 30 something and the mets pick just disappeared. sliding everyone after that up one. For the mets to sign a player with a QO but lose murphy it would be about a 4 to 10 slot difference. not actually a big deal. as long as murphy signs somewhere else they could also sign a player on a QO.

Some the most sucessful met players for the mets have come in that pick 38 range. just a quirk or the process. (wright, thor, TDA)

The Jose Reyes ship has sailed. A leadoff hitter with a .310 obp? 24 sb don't make up for that. He also has an 80 wrc+... Both Ruben Tejada and WIlmer Flores had much better offensive stats - similar story on defense. Add 22 mil a year? He is a liability and an expensive one at that.